LONDON (Reuters) -
(Shortened version)
When passengers board the giant A380 aircraft at London's Heathrow for the first time next year they will be leaving a noticeably different airport.
In the biggest single change to operations since the Boeing 747 was introduced in 1970, the airport is spending $841 million widening taxiways, installing double-decker loading ramps and upgrading immigration and baggage facilities.
The arrival of the world's largest passenger plane means airports like Heathrow, already operating under congested conditions, are under pressure to ensure they can turn around up to double the number of passengers from a single aircraft in the same time.
Two huge air bridges, one of which is around eight floors off the ground, will connect the double-decker Airbus aircraft's 550 passengers with the terminal building.
Heathrow will also offer airlines the option of a third gangway, two on the lower deck and one upstairs, although airlines will have to subsidize that extra themselves.
Like the plane's interior, everything in the terminal building will be larger as well. Heathrow is building bigger lounges and extending baggage carousels to ensure passengers are not delayed any longer than usual.
Heathrow will be in the first wave of major hubs hosting the A380 and is racing against the clock to prepare for its giant guest next year.
"This is a step change. The introduction of the A380 is going to have the same impact on infrastructure and the industry overall as (did) the 747," said Eryl Smith, director of business strategy, planning and development for Heathrow's owner, BAA Plc .
Smith told Reuters the spending included a 100 million pound redevelopment of a pier in Terminal 3 -- where its first A380 customer, Singapore Airlines, will start using the plane in 2006 -- and a 35 million pound expansion of the terminal's baggage reclaim hall. Taxiways are also being widened and resurfaced, a challenge at an airport which is already operating at near peak capacity.
"We are very confident, with eight or nine carriers (buying the A380), this is the start of what will be a progressive increase in the proportion of the total Heathrow fleet," he said.
BAA predicts the A380 will account for one in every eight flights by 2016, boosting passenger numbers without increasing the number of flights.
Smith said larger aircraft will enable Heathrow to handle 90 million passengers a year on its existing two runways, compared with 67 million in 2004, with a minimal increase in flights. ($1=.5353 Pound)
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